Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Oasis: Freewheeling conversations with Dr. Vishal Rao - V





Ignorance is bliss ... and power too!

 

The phrase “Ignorance Is Bliss" was coined by English poet Thomas Gray in his profound ‘Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College’, a beautiful 18th century poem revered to this day for the quality of its imagery, personification and juxtaposition. 

 

As a surgeon wedded to his work in a boundless continuum, Dr. Vishal Rao has little time for social outings or recreational meets beyond the occasional get-togethers. Yet, he sees and senses the world around him all the time, thanks to his patients who bring with them a bagful of experiences from their respective walks of life. He sees the world through their eyes. 


His thoughts stand out for their conviction and credibility, amid the din od tall claims by 'providers' in the market, claiming to defy age and ailment with wonder drugs and silver bullet therapies. Dr. Vishal is one of the few doctors who underline the need for developing better health ahead of the need to set up more hospitals providing healthcare.  

 

His knowledge of the world, he says, is a huge compendium of patient narratives – outlining their trials and triumphs of life, their regrets and ecstasies, resolutions, and aspirations. He has acquired a humongous storehouse of knowledge without stepping out of his clinical environment which gives him a deep sense of fulfilment, akin to the thrill that backpackers derive from their wandering escapades across the globe. ‘Oasis’ attempts to unleash this invaluable repository in word form. 

 

In this fifth edition of ‘Oasis’, we ask  Dr. Vishal why he thinks there is more to ignorance than bliss, as also discuss a few key peripheral issues linked to it. {Prior 'Oasis' editions published on the blog can be accessed from the links shared on the column to the right}


Why do you say Ignorance is Power?

 

During a Tata Business School program, I was interacting with the Rolls Royce leadership team. One of their visionaries shared a very beautiful thought with me: “In the 20th century, knowledge was power; but in the 21st century, ignorance is power.” This profound statement got me thinking – today, the education system has institutionalized our minds to such an extent that our thoughts can’t travel beyond the confines of set processes.  The Rolls Royce head further gave me a striking example – when it comes to designing a new car, the best audience to gather suggestions is a school where kids will throw open a bagful of must haves and nice to haves, based on their ultrasonic and unbridled imaginations. In sharp contrast, an engineer will draw and dish out the same old design that he has been doing all his professional life. So, education dissuades you not to venture beyond certain boundaries of what is unanimously perceived as possible and not possible. The only way to break these boundaries is by making the most of the profound truth: “Ignorance is Power”

 

Every day, in my day-to-day work as a surgical oncologist, I question the status quo. I have always believed we are all dwarfs standing on the shoulders of visionary giants, notwithstanding our various achievements and claim to fame. Some of the greatest discoveries of today hence stand liable to become the greatest blunders of tomorrow.  That’s precisely why we need to question what we are asked to believe, before we believe it to be true.  

 

Could you elaborate this in the context of a specific example? 

 

During the making of AUM voice prosthesis for throat cancer patients, the first six months were lost in doing experiments and repeatedly failing in them. During one of such predicaments, my wife called up to tell me that she wished to go out shopping. I had to drop everything and follow her to the mart. My three-year old son was with us, merrily dropping few boxes from the racks onto the ground. As I bent to pick them up, I realized they were tampon boxes. That was a eureka moment for me, where I suddenly thought: why can’t voice implants be sold and delivered over the counter like tampons. This was an absolutely ridiculous idea that I become hooked to. So, there I was at the billing counter with 10 boxes of tampons and my wife staring at me in complete disbelief.  When I told her instinctively that I have found the solution, she thought I had lost my mind.        

 

When I went back to my lab, I told my team we should have our voice device inserters as simple and easy to use as the tampon boxes I showed them. Just when one of my engineers laughed off the whole idea, I was drifted towards an interesting principle what is known as the Occam’s Razor. It says that when faced with an intriguingly complex problem, try and focus on developing the simplest solution.  On an impulse, I rushed to the neighbouring district of Channapatna to the shop of a gentleman who makes science toys. I sought his help to make an inserter founded on the principles of toy making.  The fine gentleman designed the first prototype in two hours with no relevant background whatsoever. The rest of course is history as the AUM device is now a reality.  

 

So, we can say there is a lot more to ignorance than what meets the eye, or rather doesn't meet the eye... 

 

Undoubtedly! Ignorance, in my opinion, is the foundation of design thinking and disruptive innovation. I recollect a very interesting chapter in the Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine by Dr. Judah Folkman, the father of Angiogenesis, where he puts forth a positively intriguing question: “Will we reach a time in history when we will co-exist with cancer like how we do with a chronic disease like diabetes?”  That got me stressing more and more on the effort to heal cancers, rather than fight them. 

 

Even in a cancer patient at stage IV where the tumour has metastasized, we may have a situation where cancer cells are 30%, but 70% are still normal immune cells. In the focal attention to the 30%, the 70% is largely unacknowledged. Similarly, in early-stage cancer, the whole attention is on the 5%, leaving 95% of it undervalued. This 95 percent is the epigenome that influences the genome through factors of mind, food, water, air, breath, and the environment around us. So, we need to strengthen the epigenome which in turn would impact the genome. Simply put, we need to consciously choose a holistically therapeutic path – of a nutritious low-sugar diet, deep breathing, physical exercise. and positive thinking. This is the path of healing the cancer, as against merely fighting it.  This path is a fine example of the power of “Ignorance is power.”

 

And yet we find cancer still causing fear and dread ...

 

The moment the word ‘cancer’ is mentioned – whether in casual conversations or serious discussions - a pall of gloom invariably pervades the vicinity; such is the abject negativity surrounding the disease. The play of individual destinies, the biology of tumour, as also the grind of treatment ordeals has together prevented us from gathering rich, actionable insights into this enigmatic disease, leaving us perpetually wondering: “Can cancer be vanquished?”

 

That cancer survival is possible even in the most advanced stages has at its core a strong, inexplicable force with a mind of its own. No wonder, one patient at the same stage of cancer does not make it, while another manages a miraculous recovery, even at the point of no return! In my personal experience, I have seen many patients who follow a path of healing which others are unaware of. The moment we acknowledge cancer, as an affliction of our ‘mind’ and ‘spirit’, as much as that of our physical bodies, we embark on the spiritually therapeutic path of healing.

 

Could you elaborate on the spiritually therapeutic path of healing?

 

Every thought and emotion that we experience affect some part of our genome in a profound manner. Germs exist all around and yet, only some of us fall ill. Elusive as it may seem, those of us who fall ill actually have a different thought pattern compared to those who are more ‘immune’? The human body has the uncanny ability to eliminate cancerous cells through a normal immune mechanism. And contrary to what people believe, our bodies have been doing this thankless job all along. These reflections should serve as a ready reckoner for any cancer patient who wishes to look beyond reluctance and open a new gateway to the countenance of hope, love and healing. Healing of mind, body and soul is the key mantra, NOT fighting cancer. 

 

The first and foremost prescription, for any cancer patient, is to consciously cultivate and reinforce the conviction: “I may have cancer, but I won’t let cancer have me.” We often hear patients being vociferously advised, “Fight your cancer”. But do we ever anyone tell people to fight their noses when they catch a common cold, or for that matter their kidneys in case of a renal stone? A child developing from an embryo in the mother’s womb starts with a single cell and grows to a trillion cells in nine months, way faster than most cancer cell proliferations. We never would call a new life in womb a tumour. Similarly, it is not wise for a patient to fight cancer; instead, the patient should provide the cancer cells as much love and healing as possible, to bring them back to harmony, thereby fighting a mind which is generally consumed by negativity in most cases. 

 

Getting in sync with oneself is most critical in the healing process. The positive affirmations are in fact healing mantras that are invoked by the innate potential of one’s own self, through a steady diet of prayer, diet, yoga and holistic treatments and. A Mantra in Sanskrit is a combination of two words Manas (Mind) & Tra (instrument), which literally means, “An instrument to silence the mind”. These Mantras reaffirm the fundamental healing principles of the universe towards restoring the social contact of cancer cells to normalcy. Cancer patients actively participating in treatment, and chanting mantras, create an immensely powerful innate healing force in their bodies. We all have an innate ability to raise our consciousness to a state of love; the consciousness abounds with the ability to heal lives, not just cancer. 

 

 



Thursday, March 07, 2024

The Virtuous, Visionary, and Veritable Virologist

Prof. Dr. Harald zur Hausen



11 March 1936 - 28 May 2023



Pic courtesy: Wikipedia


Reading about the life and times of the towering men of science, who also happen to be towering men of literature in letter and spirit but devoid of law-like aridness, is always a sheer delight. Nobel laureate Prof. Dr. Harald zur Hausen’s autobiographical notes published in the ‘Annual Review of Virology’ are bursting at the seams of the fraternity journal, and they should ideally be shared with the community at large as the best tribute to this visionary, virtuous, and veritable virologist.


One can’t cease marvelling at how Dr. Harald’s masterful story-telling – complete with defining backdrops and key trigger events - doesn’t lose sight of the larger cause of the moot point: the meticulous chronicle of his decade-long pathbreaking discovery - that the benign-looking, wart-causing human papillomavirus (HPV) also causes cervical and other forms of cancers – which eventually led to the development of preventive vaccines and life-saving tests. 


A monumental feat indeed given that more than 600,000 people develop an HPV-related cancer every year, and also given the scathing opposition and ridicule Dr. Hausen had to needlessly endure en route, even from revered and renowned mainstream experts who staunchly held that cervical cancer was caused by the herpes simplex virus.


Dr. zur Hausen’s work is unique in another key aspect, reportedly a sweet exception in the scientific world. He never thought twice about sharing clones of the viral DNA with the research fraternity at large which in turn lent great momentum to the scientific comprehension of the virus machinations and the development of vaccines. 


Dr. Hausen didn’t stop at the discovery though, and he passionately advocated for the widespread use of the vaccine across the globe. Thanks only to his unyielding insistence that the vaccine be given to both genders, health officials are today recommending its administration to boys as well, unlike the protracted erstwhile practice of restricting it to girls alone.    


His autobiographical thought piece reads like a cult classic feature film script – packed with poignant memories that are recounted in a matter-of-fact prose of sparkling wit and wisdom. 


We learn how the Russian October Revolution in 1917 shaped his fate, as also that of his siblings; how the world war forced his father to give up his earnest study of agriculture and join the army; how the family doggedly endured the pain and pathos of the war era as also the lingering trauma of the post-war period; how the autumn of 1945 saw the resumption of school time for a young Hausen, and his early tryst with ancient Latin and Greek classics; how the biographies of Robert Koch and Louis Pasteur, and Sinclair Lewis’s novel ‘Arrowsmith’, an inspiring commentary on the larger truths and key questions facing medicine, influenced his decision to study medicine; how he was obsessed with questions about nature and biology of life; how his attention was drawn to the etiology of cancer, neurological and autoimmune diseases, and eventually to lysogeny (which shields a virus from environmental effects including inactivation by UV sunlight or proteolytic digestion); and how in 1960, inspired by the hunch that human cancers might have an infectious origin, he zeroed down his attention to the study of infections and cancer.


The rest is a lot of history, geography and civics – en route his internship in Westphalia and Isly; the fruitful time at the Institute of Medical Microbiology in Düsseldorf; dramatic relocation to Philadelphia to work in the laboratory of the couple Werner and Gertrude Henle working on the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), where he focused on the adenovirus; his next stint at the Virus Institute at the University of Würzburg set up by Eberhard Wecker, during which his publications on herpesviruses and oncogenesis fetched him a Robert Koch award; the profitable relocation to the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Bavaria as a clinical virologist which marked the start of his seminal research on the Papillomaviruses in cervical cancer; and the succeeding move to Freiburg as a professor at the Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology which led to the breakthrough discovery - that HPV 16 DNA was detectable in approximately 50% of cervical cancer biopsy DNA, and HPV 18 in about 20%; and not to forget two decades of exemplary achievements at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) in Heidelberg; and the highly eventful emeritus span.  


We hope and pray that his colleagues, followers, and students led by his wife and fellow virologist Ethel-Michele de Villiers will soon be out with breakthrough findings on Dr. Hausen’s swan song work probing the association between breast and colon cancer which led them to the identification of a likely novel type of infectious agent and human pathogen in dairy products, the potential cause of colon and breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer disease. 


It is incredible that the good doctor had to retrieve invaluable treasures ruthlessly dumped in the wastebasket– not once but twice in his career - to change the course of his work life! On the first occasion, it was Werner Henle’s letter from Philadelphia seeking a young medically trained German with interests in virology. 


On the second occasion, he recovered all the slides of frozen sections of NPC biopsies (pursuant to his application of a method developed by Perdue and Gall on cells producing EBV particles) after PHD student Hans Wolf dumped the slides in the garbage bin claiming negative results (which later showed the presence of epithelial cancer cells.)


The fag-end lines of the paper are one of its resounding best, a moving tribute to his wife and work partner – reflective of organic gratitude and first-rate humour: 

 

“Nobody else, however, influenced my personal life and my scientific career more than my wife, Ethel-Michele de Villiers. She has repeatedly stated, mockingly, that we two split our activities: She does the work, and I do the talking. Indeed, a large proportion of experimental data obtained during several decades as well as a number of excellent ideas are hers. Looking at her work and her intellectual input and proposals, frequently underestimated by several of her colleagues, I see she has a point in saying this. Thank you, Ethel-Michele, for tolerating me, clearly a passionate and addicted scientist (not very dissimilar from you).”


Monday, March 04, 2024

My yellow friend called JCB




During my stint as a Business Process Reengineering consultant, I had the opportunity to tour around the country and overseas on numerous plant visits at various manufacturing setups. My fondest interaction was with a miracle-in-machine form, a ubiquitous excavator known by the common name of a 'backhoe' and a proper, rather pet name, of 'JCB' - common parlance for every stakeholder on site - including CEOs, managerial staff, factory foremen and workers, contractual labour, and security guards.


Ever since, I have bumped into countless JCBs almost everywhere: infrastructure development sections alongside highways and feeder routes, urban and rural construction sites, agri farms and plantations, airport terminals, rail yards and the like.

The friendly, trademark yellow, contraption parked on a gradient atop a mound of sand, lost in deep sleep after a hard day's work with a barking dog or two for company, is a staple sight I have savoured on most Indian state and national highways during countless wee hour drives on vacation and vocation.

Having said that, it took me a few years for the enlightenment that JCB stood for its visionary founder's name: Joseph Cyril Bamford, and not some tongue-twisting earthmoving or excavation term (that I never bothered to check with anyone for the fear of becoming an object of abject ridicule)

This innovation, which was born in a locked-up garage of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire way back in 1945, is still rocksolid disruptive in the AI age - a sterling example of exemplary brand equity and astonishingly quick recall, where the founder and his brainchild share the same soul which is 'jamais content' (never content) in its pursuit of excellence.

Wishing the legendary JCB's son and current chairman Anthony Bamford and his team every success on the way forward.

JCB JCBIndia Ltd. JCB North America JCB North America hashtagjcbmachines hashtagautomation

Monday, February 26, 2024

Interesting memoir, Moving Au Revoir







Media is abuzz with citing, interpreting and analyzing the seemingly contentious issues of 'Who Moved My Interest Rate?' conveniently ignoring the delightfully enduring aspects of the incisive memoir. Hardly a surprise that, given the typical fourth estate obsession with theatrical story-telling, thriving on sensationalism that, more often than not, is bereft of sense. 

But the undeniable fact is, Dr. Subbarao’s tell-all book is an endearing primer for posterity that unfolds a rainbow of his emotions - while at the helm of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in what was a terrifyingly tumultuous tenure – including fear, anxiety, hope, surprise, shock, delight, contentment, lament and predicament. He provides the context to each conflict he faced which in turn tells us more about the man’s stoic character and his resolute mission – beginning with the 2008 global meltdown and his struggle to shield India from the unforeseen tremors of an intertwined financial world (but with little say to emerging market economies) and ending with the nasty rupee fall of 2013 which raised lethal questions on the lack of forex build up in the relatively happy years. Interspersed in between was the chronic fight against the government’s hardcoded stance on the age-old Growth vs. Price Stability debate where Dr. Subbarao was implicitly expected to toe the line, more so given his long, eventful stint on the ‘other side’.

Dr. Subbarao’s sincere account, among other things, brings to light the pathos of the Governor’s job where acknowledgment of short-term pay offs is ephemeral while the unforgiving evaluation of long-term consequences in the light of hindsight experience seems eternal.

The innovation that Dr. Subbarao has steered towards making the RBI federal in thought and action – free of hierarchies and confirmation biases – is a case study for both public and private sector players. Wish we had many more CEOs with Dr. Subbarao’s vision and values. The quality of corporate sector governance is as big a problem as are cyclical ups and downs and external shocks. And there's a lot to learn from the prudence and precision of Subbarao’s outreach programs towards making our social development initiatives fit for purpose. 

Dr. Subbarao’s effort to free each concept of its intimidating jargon - more so for the novice reader - is evident across all chapters, which makes this book a treasure trove for students of economics and finance in particular. Every illumination has been made in simple language with a discerning desire to reach out to the common people who don’t have the time, inclination or intellect to decipher inflation numbers and interest rates – whether of the measure of financial integration, double-edged sword of globalization, supply-side triggers of inflation, perils of working with flawed data, myth of inflation targeting being opposed to growth, RBI’s unflinching transparency on government’s fiscal stance, the typical central bank quandary in striking a balance between the demands of the privileged, vocal industry fraternity and the mute voice of the common people yearning for lowering of prices, intricacies of monetary policy transmission and ensuing liquidity management through instruments like Open Market Operations, RBI’s lesser known roles and responsibilities including its social development agenda, domestic issues behind the currency slide beyond the taper tantrum trigger, challenge of exchange rate management and the attached Do something vs. Do nothing dilemma, tenets of financial inclusion or modus operandi of NBFCs.

Even readers who feel they have little to do with economics and finance will find the revelation absorbing, one that will evoke a powerful imagery of things you don’t expect from a mainstream book by a bureaucrat – capturing vivid details of the structure and layout of the Governor’s office and the timeless charm of his British-brand BHNS-maintained residential bungalow with ‘its wafting fresh air, cacophony of birds and heavy bunches of jackfruit’. Don’t miss his incisive interpretation of Jean Paul Sartre’s existentialist observation ‘Man is condemned to be free’ in the context of the question on what he would have done differently as the governor of the Reserve Bank.

In wonderful contrast to his profundity on philosophical issues is the ex-governor’s passion for adventure and recreation which is evident from the umpteen references throughout the 300-odd pages – whether his interest in 24-carat Bollywood products like Chennai Express and offbeat Prithvi Theatre plays, craving for Tardeo Maharashtrian eateries or penchant for inquisitive history tours around South Mumbai in ardent appreciation of the city’s emblematic blend of diverse architectural styles. And his wit, a recurring highlight of his insightful account, is superlative to say the least. Of course, it’s best read than cited.

The engaging anecdotes in the course of his pan-India journeys for outreach programs and financial inclusion initiatives are truly inspiring. Wish our branded activists take a cue from Dr. Subbarao’s freewheeling, ventilated approach to financial literacy. Thanks to the arid, bureaucratic mechanisms of conventional NGO bodies, proletariat activists and CSR practitioners across the globe, social responsibility, knowingly and unknowingly, has come to harbour several blatant assumptions about the larger cause of end-beneficiaries (often generically slotted as ‘target groups’ or ‘deprived’ communities) Conveniently overlooked in the process is the plain fact that their deprivation is only circumstantial and in no way indicative of the instinctive and intellectual capacities inherent within the community. Contrary to popular perception, the supply-side forces, in the mad rush to emancipate the downtrodden, are themselves found deprived when it comes to even reading the minds of the audience, leave alone identifying its needs. In peddling their jargon-heavy black and white prescriptions on financial prudence and general well being, they are knowingly and unknowingly oblivious of the expressions of playful amusement and suppressed yawns that the so-called ‘deprived’ reserve for the seemingly ‘privileged’ - - stemming more from doubt than disbelief. 

As for those from the journalistic tribe who wished Dr. Subbarao was more alpha male during his tenure, he has shown the virtues of a public beta release in the form of his book that now allows anyone to download his thought process. How many governors would attempt such introspection for open dissection which also talks of what he felt he could have done differently – like the need to adjust the stated policy on foreign exchange and make it more specific with respect to defining and managing volatility and building self-insurance?

Dr. Subbarao’s submission of the ‘twinges of guilt at the thought of millions of Mumbai slum dwellers under leaky roofs for whom the rain meant the loss of daily earning, and hungry children’ is particularly moving, given that he candidly shares his helplessness rather than choosing to overlook the obvious in line with the implicit demands of his official stature, for such predicaments, protocol says, are deemed too poetic for certified comfort. 

Given Dr. Subbarao’s conviction in sharing his no holds barred account, the real tribute to his effort won’t merely be the book’s critical acclaim; but some quality introspection by the powers-that-be as to how could the Government-Central Bank relationship be made more cohesive and solution-centric without diluting the sovereign fabric of the latter that we are all proud of.

Central bankers across the globe, we have seen time and again, are compelled to facilitate government access to near-free debt under the guise of fiscal spends. This ends up building a toxic cocoon for government debt issuance in the name of achieving growth targets. The haphazard lending that follows, eventually leads to systemic chaos in the form of rampant bank failures and consequent turmoil in bond and equity markets.

A healthy synergy between the Central Bank and the government should lead to more credible and sustainable solutions to various problems that stand in the way of India’s economic development. Prime among them is the NPA issue. It’s common knowledge that dealing with doubtful and distressed assets has always been the Achilles Heel of the banking sector. Barring a few players known for their stringent lending norms, most bankers try and downplay the whole issue through the usual philosophical sermon: That NPAs are an integral part of banking given the criticality of broad-based operations to profitability which exposes banks to all kinds of unavoidable factors like economic downturns and political upheavals. So, they claim, even the safest of loans can be rendered unproductive…

High time we stop hiding behind these lame excuses and collectively address some tough questions that make NPAs more elusive than what meets the eye. There’s no doubt that more RBI enactments would follow in the time to come. But unless we turn our attention to the fundamental questions surrounding NPAs, every RBI intervention will always seem more palliative than curative. 

Hope the new wave ushers in an environment of proactive prudence that penalizes banks and auditors for suspect motives that serve as a green house for NPAs. This way, banks, ARCs and their regulators would be left to deal only with the genuine cases of NPAs. For the Indian banking sector, that would a big leap forward.

It’s high time, we also demystified the glorious economic abbreviations that fuel a debate among practising economists and fiscal experts and yet mean little or nothing to the common man. Rather than board ceremonial flights of imagined realities consequent to the published data, our experts would do well to demand a governmental initiative to simplify the data for better public comprehension. Needless to say, caring for this precision and validation is the collective responsibility of the government and the private sector. 




Thursday, February 22, 2024

"Fundraising is an inherently human process. It relies on trust and inclination towards the given cause. "





It was a quintessential Bangalore evening of inimitably pleasant weather and staple festive cheer.  I was at the Park Hotel, M G Road to attend another India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) hosted film screening, at the behest of my dear friend Darshana Dave, the tireless activist, clinical psychologist, and broadcast journalist all rolled into one tenacious lady who is never seen without her staple disarming smile. 


Just as we waited for the proceedings to begin, I noticed another lady on the mike, managing a  tight rope walk of keeping the audience occupied while setting things up, fighting Murphy's law with a Murphy's smile, exuding a peerless child-like innocence rarely seen in the intellectual tribe. Impressed by her polite and purposeful emails post the event to keep the IFA connect going, I checked her profile and saw quite a story manifesting in an unconventional and hence inspiring career voyage.


What instinctively followed was a Q & A with Aditi Rakhe, Manager: Corporate Engagements & Individual Donors.  



Multiculturalism seems to have been a defining feature of your upbringing… 

 

Yes, you could say that! I grew up in Surat, Gujarat. It used to be a small town way back then, far from the big city it has become today. Gujarat was not my hometown in the strictest sense of the word as both my parents had roots outside the state. My mom’s family had relocated from Kerala to Baroda, and my dad’s from Maharashtra to Ahmedabad. 

 

My grandparents, both paternal and maternal, were educators in the humanities: English, Social Sciences and Economics. In contrast, my parents took to medicine and became doctors. So, it was a great blend of thought schools in the household apart from the multicultural confluence. As kids, we had the luxury of being curious and creative irrespective of grades (as long as we didn’t flunk). I remember being a first bencher at school and relishing the learning experience as there was no compulsion of scoring competitive grades. 

 

The conducive environment helped me understand the multiplicity of my interests. I had a strong liking for all STEM subjects especially Mathematics and Physics, particularly the inherent problem solving aspect. At the same time, I thoroughly relished literature, English to begin with, and Gujarati and Hindi later in life. Of course, growing up in a multilingual house helped a lot. We spoke Hindi, English, Gujarati, Marathi, and Malayalam based on which set of grandparents were visiting us. (I have unfortunately lost my grasp over Malayalam, but am good at all the rest)


Study trip to Udaipur, 2nd Year B. A. (Arch)


 

What sparked your interest in Architecture? 

 

Given my interest in STEM, I went down the Physics-Chemistry-Math route starting grade 11th . The start of this voyage was exciting, competitive exams were fun, and soon enough, I set my eyes on the staple IIT, NIT engineering streams. But at some point, in the latter half of my 12th class, I was left exhausted by the IIT coaching all the way to a point where I no longer wished to pursue it. I had always been interested in the idea of making spaces, I had some exposure in my early years since my aunt was an architect. So, with everything else not working for me, I settled on architecture as a compromise between the arts and the sciences. 

 

Architecture school was tough, but it was here that I picked up managerial and organisational skills and learnt how to work relentlessly, the very nature of that course requires you to do that. I think B.Arch as a course is truly vast, encompassing elements of arts, design, mathematics, physics, law, literature, philosophy, travel. It’s a great canvas for self discovery, especially for someone in youthful prime. I discovered my love for visual arts, film, theatre and certain elements of design through that course. 

 

From Arch to MA  - was it 'trying new things' as you have put it or was it something more, say love for art history and conservation - or was this purely from an architectural conservation perspective? 

 

I had an interest in History of Art for a while. I had flunked in some visual arts subjects when I was very young (1st or 2nd grade) and my mother took it upon herself to find an amazing visual artist from MSU who would give me readings on Art History, both Indian and Western. Although I didn’t understand much, it fascinated me. I was especially drawn to a weekly called ‘The Great Artists.’ 

 

I would copy works of Van Gogh and Gauguin. These remain rare periodicals to this day. I feel lucky to have some preserved from that time. My art teacher also got me postcards from different museums and galleries, I have some of those as well. I think, this exposure to the visual arts left a very deep impact on me. It made me understand, on an emotional and subjective level, the value added to one’s life through the arts at a subconscious level.

 

Fast forward a few years, I did a year long practice-based architectural residency across India post my graduation. It was some 40 odd days of travel to Auroville, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and Udaipur. Since it was practice-based, all of us had various design projects to work on. En route the travels, I found myself drawn to elements of cultural history which triggered my shift to the arts. I felt a compulsive need to go back to the humanities. 

 

I started applying for courses across India, the UK and USA. I narrowed down on Nottingham for obvious reasons: UK has a shorter masters, ideal for one who has undergone five years in an architecture school. The university offered good avenues for scholarships, and it was a relatively affordable city for an immigrant student. Nottingham also had some art spaces by and for different south Asian diaspora communities (especially a space called New Arts Exchange which continues to fascinate me!).

 

I had more avenues to work in a student town like Nottingham – I wasn’t so sure that would have been possible in a larger city. Lastly, University of Nottingham is a Russel Group varsity and has enduring relationships with renowned archives and libraries across the UK with other Russel Group Universities, so one has easier access to say a library in Cambridge or Cardiff.   

 

I was very happy with my professors and I think I learnt a lot about the virtues of critical thinking through this course. In the process of spending a year and half in Nottingham and another in London, I made some wonderful friends and indulged in some great artistic practices. 


Architectural Residency, 'Pitstudio' by Matharoo associates (Credit: Nandja Chopra)  


 

How was the brief stint as a Curatorial Contributor?  

 

As soon as I landed up in university in the UK I wanted to work. A lot of this was out of necessity – doing odd temp jobs to support my student life. I also wasn’t sure if I would have the chance to stay back and work after I graduated. So I wanted to start as soon as I could and learn work practices in the arts and culture sector in the UK. This is how I ended up interviewing for and getting work at a student curatorial team in Nottingham – Crop Up Gallery. It helped me explore some amazing artists from the city and the Midlands in the UK and we put together some great shows with a fantastic team. 

 

Through this gig I found out about an annual collaborative project between The University of Nottingham (i.e. my Alma Matter), the MFA department at the Nottingham Trent University, and one of the most prominent Galleries in the Midlands – Nottingham Contemporary. Each year, a group of MFA students from Nottingham Trent University (NTU) would make a response exhibition called ‘The Aftermath Project’ for an existing exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary. 

 

The exhibition they were responding to during my tenure – ‘The Place is here’ - really moved me on a personal level. It showcases important works from the British Black Arts Movement (1980s), which was an perceptive commentary on Britain’s colonial history, African and South Asian immigration to the UK, subsequent racial subjugation, as also on how diaspora artists responded to this back in the 80s. I was eager to work with MFA students from NTU and Nottingham Contemporary on a response exhibition no matter how short the stint was, and I am so glad I got the opportunity. It lent me fresh perspectives on how to think of the Arts within the South Asian Diaspora. For this project, I worked on curation, research, and exhibition design, but mostly I just watched and soaked in the insights. 

 

How did the Museum of Goa stint happen? 

 

My tenure at Museum of Goa came from a place of necessity. I had lived in Goa before, and I wanted to live there again. I knew there were some interesting Arts practices and experimentation happening there. I just wanted to be a part of the ecosystem. I started with an internship at the museum, managed a couple of exhibitions, and soon enough I was taking care of The Goa Affordable Arts Fest. This was my first proper stint with fundraising. I had to raise corporate sponsors, manage different moving parts and expenditure, as well as some elements of artwork sale. I learned most of what I know about administration in the arts from that stint.

 

Great Artists Periodical (Credit: Aditi Rakhe) 



What is TIFA Working Studios into? As programmes head, were you into fundraising?

 

TIFA working studios is a very interesting arts space in Pune. It’s a multidisciplinary arts space set in a thriving space that was once an Art Deco Hotel dating back to the 1940s. They hosted so many interesting residencies, festivals, talks, exhibitions and although I wasn’t directly in charge of institutional fundraising for the organisation, I did help bring in support for some of the programmes I headed especially The Futures Festival. 


Exhibition at Backlit Gallery with Crop Up (Credit: Crop Up Gallery)


 

Sahapedia.org seems to have offered you a bigger canvas to work on…

 

I enjoyed being the Project head of My City, My Heritage the most! It was such a special project – we did cultural mapping across 10 cities in India. We predominantly depended on local perspectives – local writers, photographers, scholars. So it was a large team of extremely insightful and talented individuals some of whom were extremely senior to me. I learned so very much from there. Most importantly, not only did I get insight into cultural practices from across the country but also a lot about administration of a CSR project. Sahapedia also gave me a potent platform to harness some interesting partnerships with museums and organisations to take both the projects – My City, My Heritage and Museums of India forward. 



Talk at length about your current role at IFA, the scope and size of it, challenges you lock horns with, as also the triumphs close to your heart...

 

I had always known and admired the work that India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) does. IFA has a legacy of supporting a diverse range of projects across mediums in different languages across the country and these have always been projects that would give voice to the unheard. More importantly, I resonated with IFA’s belief that the arts have a great sense of value in shaping individual and community lives. 


Exhibition at Backlit Gallery with Crop Up (Credit: Crop Up Gallery)


 

As a fundraiser at IFA, I handle fundraising from individuals and corporate engagements which includes Arts Services, Consultancies and Fundraising events. Art Services are services we provide in areas of our expertise such as event facilitation, arts-based workshops, performances and hosting talks by leadership in the arts which focus on sparking creativity, addresses sensitive subjects and improves team dynamics in corporate ecosystems. Under Fundraising events, we garner corporate sponsorship to support events that generate ticket sales in order to raise funds for IFA. So, these are some distinct forms of fundraising, unique and equally enjoyable. I think overall, any donation is a big triumph for a fundraiser. Every fundraiser understands that every single one of them makes a difference – no matter the amount. That is mostly because it is a source of encouragement for our work and for the Arts! I always cherish interacting with Friends of IFA. Such a diverse group of people with a strong shared belief in the impact the arts have.

 

In terms of challenges, I think fundraising for the arts in general is challenging especially when individual donations and giving to the arts is not very common, but we constantly try to let our work change minds by trying to enhance public access to the arts. I think it is a challenge worth locking horns with because of the value of each donation, be it corporate or individual or one picking up passes to an IFA event – all of it is very important to us, we cherish each and every one of those acts of support! 


Great Artists Periodical (Credit: Aditi Rakhe) 


 

Your recent CSR certification seems to have offered new actionable insights into your passion areas?  

 

The course gave me great insight into the applications and legalities of the CSR act. It helped me get my basics about institutional fundraising in India right, which is such a key skill. Moreover, the certification programme was designed to create a community of people in the not for profit sector, be it from NGOs, Corporate CSR or Governance. This community still goes strong and we tend to rely on each other for everyday questions and challenges within the sector, no matter which cause we support. 

If you were to start work life all over again, would you do things differently or stick to the same route?

 

The same route! My decisions with my career have been instinctive and that has added great value. It leaves one with fewer regrets as well. In hindsight, I think I would have added an administrative course because it would have helped my learning curve.



By your reckoning, how would fundraising evolve going forward?

 

My personal opinion is that fundraising is an inherently human process. It relies on trust and inclination towards causes, whatever they may be. Especially if the cause is as subjective and nuanced as the arts, I think the process of raising funds for it is reliant on human connections. I think, tech enabled process may be employed in the future to mitigate some workflows, but it is highly unlikely new tech would take the process over. I honestly, don’t have a clear answer to how fundraising will evolve over the years but maybe simpler tech enabled systems managed by insightful professionals would be my best guess. 


Exhibition design for the iranian artist, Saleh Kazemi at Museum of Goa (Credit: Saleh Kazemi)

    


What is your take on ethics in fundraising? 

 

Fundraising is as ethical as the fundraising organization itself is. IFA has been extremely transparent about its processes – we make sure we are very clear about who we are, what we do, and how we do it from the word go. We are happy to answer questions for donors, be it individual, institutional, corporate or anyone at all.  Another way I think one can ensure authenticity of donors is to not be afraid to turn down donations, if the source seems unreliable or unethical. 

 

Any thoughts to share with readers before signing off… 

 

I would like to add a small appeal for folks to contribute to causes and not for profits as much as they can. It doesn’t necessarily matter what the cause is. As long as it moves you individually and the NGO is doing great work, please don’t hesitate with donations. People tend to think that their Rs 500 in a donation box or them buying a fundraiser pass has little value but that is not true at all. I think, as a community, it is important for us to extend support in volunteering, donating in kind and more at our own capacity for the not-for-profit sector which works selflessly for their causes. To this, if I may add, donate to the arts! Every novel you enjoy, every film, every play, concert has grown from an ecosystem of scholars, musicians, actors, performers and thinkers who consistently work towards their craft and the evolution of their medium.  India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) supports this ecosystem in India. We are currently inviting individuals to help us raise our target of Rs 20 Lakh as the financial year comes to an end. The donation can start from Rs 250 and donations above Rs 5000 makes you a Friend of IFA. You could also donate your Reward Points or Loyalty Points to IFA via Points for Good. 

 

To know more, please check  Donate Online | India Foundation for the Arts (indiaifa.org)